More Companies Should Use Social Media Marketing, Numbers Say [INFOGRAPHIC]

As social media sites gain real estate on the Internet, more and more businesses are signing up for Facebook and Twitter accounts, creating an Internet presence for their brand. Not only can private businesses market their products and services through social media, they can also engage and interact with customers, solving problems and answering questions in real time.

While the reasons to utilize social mediamarketing might be more obvious for businesses that sell to consumers, some might think that the same doesn’t apply to business-to-business, or B2B, companies. But as the infographic below shows, 86% of B2B firms are including social media marketing in their promotion strategy.

The chart gives a breakdown of why: Facebook and Twitter each have exponentially more active users than the traditional USA Today print newspaper. But it goes beyond those numbers. The majority of social media users believe that companies should be using it to connect with customers.

If that’s not enough to sway you, small to medium sized B2B business owners with over 50 twitter followers generated twice as many online leads. Since everyone ultimately is looking for new sales contacts, generating that many leads via Twitter is something that you simply can’t ignore as a potential new lead source.

About Lindsey Perkins Wade

The Private Business Owner – A Generational Equity Blog

The Private Business Owner is an online publication sponsored by Generational Equity. PBO aims to provide useful tips and information that will improve both the lives and businesses of entrepreneurs, as well as provide valuable insight into the company exit process through bi-weekly M&A Digests.